Paper cup dispenser



July 10, 1962 J. H. KATZ 3,043,473

PAPER CUP DISPENSER Filed July 8, 1957 INVENTOR BY f AT'TORNEY5 UnitedStates Patent 3,043,473 PAPER @UP DESPENSER Julius H. Katz, 2946 E. 317South, Salt Lake City 9, Utah Fiied July 8, 1957, Ser. No. 670,506 1Qlairu. (Cl. 221-63) The present invention relates to paper cupdispensers of the fixed structure type.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a paper cup dispenserfrom which a single cup may be readily removed but will prevent the cupbeing reinserted through the dispensing opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide a paper cup dispenserhaving a body formed of a single piece of transparent plastic materialwhereby the contents of the dispenser may be readily ascertained.

A further object of the invention is to provide a paper cup dispenser ofthe class described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple touse, and which protects the cups from contamination prior to their beingdispensed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the followingspecification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the invention.

FIGURE 3 .is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 3-8 of FIGURE2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal cross-section taken along the line 44 of FIGURE3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like referencecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, thereference numeral indicates generally a paper cup dispenser constructedin accordance with the invention.

The paper cup dispenser 10 is formed with a generally cylindrical body11 having an upright flat surface 12 along one side thereof for contactwith a wall 13. The body 11 has a vertical bore 14 extending completelytherethrough and having the upper end threaded at 15, as shown in FIGURE3.

A transverse attaching screw bore 16 extends from the vertical bore 14through the flat surface 12 at the upper end of the body 11. A dependingflange 17 extends below the body 11 in alignment with the flat surface12 at the lower end of the flat surface 12 and having a transverse bore18 formed therein to receive a second attaching screw (not shown) forsecuring the body 11 to the wall 13.

An externally threaded circular cover 19 is arranged in the upper end ofthe bore 14 and is threadedly egaged to the threads to secure the cover19 in the body 11.

The bore 14 is provided with a plurality of bosses 20 with each of thebosses '20 having a downwardly sloped upper end wall 2 1, an arcuatewall 22 extending concentrically of the bore 14 downwardly from thedownward sloped wall 21. The bosses 20 are each provided with adownwardly and inwardly sloped wall 23 extending from the lower end ofthe wall 22 and terminating in a wall 24 extending concentrically of thebore 14 inwardly of the wall 22. The bosses 20 are each provided with abottom end wall 25' extending'perpendicularly from the wall 24 to thebore 14, as can be best seen in FIGURE 3.

The bosses 20 have their downwardly and inwardly sloping walls 211spaced substantially below the cover 19 and their bottom end wall 25spaced .slightly above the bottom of the body 11. V

In the use and operation of the invention, the body 11 is secured to awall 13' and paper cups 26 are placed in the bore 14 after removing thecover 19. The paper cups 26 are guided between the walls 22 by thesloped upper end walls 21 and have the upper rims of the cup 26 restingagainst the inwardly and downwardly sloped walls 23.

When it is desired to remove a paper cup from the dispenser 14 it isgrasped in the hand and pulled downwardly with the inwardly anddownwardly sloping walls 23 acting to cam the rim of the cup 26 inwardlyso that the cup 26 can move downwardly out of the bore 14. The next cup26 above that removed is held by the inwardly sloping walls 23 until itis forcibly grasped and removed from the dispenser 10-. Theperpendicular walls 25 engage the upper rim of the cup 2 6 to preventthe cup 26 from being forcibly replaced in the dispenser 10 by shovingit upwardly through the bottom thereof.

In many installations of paper cup dispensers, such as hotel rooms,motel rooms, and similar places, it is desirable that only a few papercups be made available and that the dispenser prevent reinsertion of thepaper cup therein. With the present invention, by preventing thereinsertion of paper cups therein, there is a certainty that the cupsare clean and no necessity for the maid to remove all of the cups whencleaning the room replacing them with new cups.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, itshould be understood that numerous structural modifications andadaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of theappended claim.

What is claimed is:

, A cup dispenser comprising a body, said body having a vertical boreextending therethrough and internally threaded at its upper end, a coverthreaded into the upper end of said bore, and a plurality of pairs ofdiametrically opposed bosses integrally formed on said body projectingradially inwardly of the lower end portion of said bore with each ofsaid bosses including an inwardly and downwardly sloping upper end wall,an upper arcuate wall concentric with said bore extending downwardlyfrom the inner lower end of said upper end wall, each said upper arcuatewall being of a length at least equal to the space between adjacentbosses, a sloping intermediate wall of lesser length than said upper endwall extending inwardly and downwardly from said concentric wall, alower arcuate wall of lesser length than said intermediate wallconcentric with said bore extending downwardly from the inner lower endof said intermediate wall, said lower concentric wall being spacedinwardly of said upper concentric wall, and a horizontal bottom wallextending from the lower end of said lower concentric wall to the borein said body, and spaced above the bottom opening of said bore, saidbody and said bosses being formed of integral transparent plasticmaterial, said upper end wall providing a guide to direct a paper cuplip into centered position between said upper arcuate walls, saidintermediate wall providing a support for the lip of the lowermost cupto be dispensed and further providing a guide to direct the paper cuplip into centered position between said lower arcuate walls duringdispensing, said horizontal bottom wall serving as a stop to preventreinsertion of a cup from the bottom of said dispenser.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,043,854 Luellen Nov. 12, 1912 1,191,995 Hammond July 25, 19161,264,950 Luellen May 7, 1918 1,891,542 Huff Dec. 20, 1932 2,068,908Conti Ian. 26, 1937 2,073,328 Wasserlein Mar. 9, 1937 2,141,682 CarewDec. 27, 1938 2,584,941 Taubert Feb. 5, 1952

